Felling Manor

The manor of Felling was an estate of 220 acres carved out of Heworth waste in the 13th century by the prior and convent of Durham, and given to Walter de Selby. The manor lay between the Mereburn (the boundary with Gateshead on the west) and the Blakburn (the boundary with Heworth on the east). The manor was held by the Selbys, who eventually forfeited the estate, then by Ralph de Epplyngden and, from 1331, by the Surtees family in return for military service, suit of court, and 40s p.a. By 1605 it was in the hands of Robert Brandling. Felling Hall, marked on the 1st edition Ordnance Survey map, is the assumed site of the manor, but Surtees noted that it was suffering from mining subsidence in 1820, and it does not now exist. The post-medieval village of Felling presumably had an industrial origin.